r/HousingUK

£1k a month vs £3250 a month. Single.

We've only been here a few years - we were living in Canada. We went through the house purchase experience once here, and from the sound of things, we were lucky and it went smoothly. It took 3 months before we had the keys, with no chain on either side.

We really don't want to face this again. Compared to how it's done elsewhere, it seems long, chaotic, and risky. You may not know until a few days before when you will own your house. Either side can back out any time.

In Canada, you put your house for sale. If someone makes an offer, it is accompanied by a deposit of probably 10% held in trust, and it has a proposed closing date. That can be any time after both sides agree, but is usually offered up in the sales advert. The buyer and seller agree on a closing date up front. When the 'sold' sign goes up, the selling is over. That's usually within 1 to 7 days. There's no 'subject to contract'. The adverts stop, as do the viewings. It's no longer for sale.

That date is fixed. The accepted offer can be conditional on the house passing an inspection/survey or the buyer getting approved for financing, or whatever everyone agrees on, and the conditions usually have a short time to be met - like 5-7 days. Once both of those occur satisfactorily, the conditions are waived, then the deal is then final. Then you wait until "closing day", which is fixed, and legally binding. You can book your truck and count on it.

Once that deal is final, the seller must be out. It's not dependent on a chain. The exchange and keys handover will happen when agreed. If it goes wrong somehow, then it's a legal issue.

When we sold our last house in Canada, the closing date was one month away. Both sides could (and did) count on it 100%. I've been through it several times in Canada, and it was always the same.

Why hasn't this process evolved here?

Edit 1: I should've said England not the UK. I was unaware that this was an England-specific issue.

Edit 2: I should also add that in Canada buyers generally have their own estate agents. Each side is represented by their own agent, who represents their clients and their best interests. It works much better.

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We are 99% sure the EA failed to pass our best and final offer to the sellers. We offered the asking price initially, then were called for our best & final, where we increased our offer by ~3% (12k)

This morning (two days later), we received a formal rejection email. It stated that our offer was rejected and a higher one selected. However, it included our original offer, not the best and final figure.

We phoned to challenge this straightaway. They claimed it was a "mix-up" and the letter should have shown the higher figure, but said the higher offer was definitely submitted. We then email asking them to re-issue the rejection letter with the correct Best & Final amount for our records. Silence.

We don't actually suspect malice, rather incomptence and now a cover-up, but we really loved the house and so wanted to make 100% our offer was at least seen by the seller. This evening, we hand-delivered a letter to the sellers with our contact details, reaffirming our interest, and a printed copy of our final offer email that was sent to the estate agent.

I understand that EAs are legally obliged to submit all offers and that, ultimately, we could go to the ombudsman...but what's the point? We won't get the house and will likely be seen as difficult. The EA has roughly 50% of the market here and even my house is sold (STC) with them. Is there anything else we can do? Should we just let it go?

Hi all, looking for some advice or similar experiences.

My wife and I are in the process of buying a semi-detached house in South London. Early in the conveyancing process the seller disclosed that there had been historic subsidence over 30 years ago, affecting the front porch.

Because of how long ago it was, the seller couldn’t provide any original paperwork, so they commissioned a structural engineer’s report. That report stated the property is structurally sound and mortgageable. Our building survey also showed only minor standard hairline cracks for victorian houses and no on going movement.

Alongside this, our lender carried out an in-person valuation and initially issued us a mortgage offer.

Our solicitor formally notified the lender about the historic subsidence (as they’re legally obliged to). Since then, the lender has withdrawn the original mortgage offer and down-valued the property (we’re still waiting to find out by how much).

This has all come as a bit of a shock and is pretty stressful as we were due to exchange this week and only found out a few days before.

Has anyone been through something similar?

1. Is this likely to result in a nil valuation, or just a reduced one?

2. Do lenders sometimes reverse decisions like this with more information, or is it usually final?

3. Would trying a different lender be the best next step? The rates atm are about 1.5% higher than what we got in January!

Any advice or experiences would be hugely appreciated.

How are people feeling about the current market?

Anyone else living in fear of their FTB pulling out of their purchase? I'm a month away from exchange. I keep reading that FTB are dropping out due to rocketing mortgage rates. I just hope my buyer's mortgage offer came through in time...too scared to ask. it's been radio silence for a while, just hoping no news is good news

I've seen a few people say they are changing agent after not getting enough viewings. I've also seen a few houses be represented by multiple agents too.

It makes me question what people expect an agent to do Vs my expectation as a buyer and seller.

I expect the agent to put the house on Rightmove, say it's a lovely area and walk people around saying "and this is the kitchen" and tell me when there's an offer made.

...and that's about it.

Is that about the same for everyone or should I be expecting more?

Just been served a S21 and I could cry. Paid rent on time and never complained about anything. Been in the property for 2yrs now but lived in the same area for almost 5yrs. I have a LO and I’ve researched the schools. And now we may need to move out of area to afford rent 😭 both my partner and I work but we earn too much to claim anything but not enough to rent in our current area. Is there anything we could do? Council is no help 😭

My neighbour is loud all the time but when it get passed midnight it is hard for me to sleep. I have mentioned it to the wife when they had a party that didn’t end until 5.40am. I couldn’t sleep all night and a week later it is really loud at 11.30pm so I’ve knocked on the door.

The vol is down today, I need to ask them to stick to an 11pm cut off but not sure what to do if it continues.

Just a lighthearted thread. Is there something you wanted as a kid that you never got, and its one of your goals now as an adult, for yourself or for your kids.

For me it's a tree swing.

We had a lovely house growing up but I always was envious of anyone (inc movies) with a tree swing in their garden.

With mortgage rates rising up sharply and the usual London struggle for non flats, I’m curious to see how other FTBs are feeling about the next 3, 6 and 9 months.

Are you playing the "wait and see" game by pausing your search to see if rates come back down or sellers take a bigger cut? Or are you going "full steam ahead" and biting the bullet on higher rates just to get on the ladder?

Hey everyone, I've been looking into whether students in Unite Students accommodation can leave early this summer under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Sharing what I've found and would love to hear if others are in the same situation.

The key legal position:

From 1 May 2026, all existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) automatically convert to Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs) under Sections 146–147 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Once converted, tenants can give two months' written notice to leave at any time.

Does the PBSA exemption block this?

No — and this is the most common misconception. The PBSA exemption under Section 32 only applies to tenancies granted after 1 May 2026. Our 2025/26 tenancies were signed before that date and fall entirely outside the exemption. The House of Lords confirmed this explicitly during debates.

What about the rent refund?

Rent paid beyond the termination date should be recoverable on grounds of unjust enrichment, failure of basis, and under clause 4.3 of the Unite T&Cs themselves.

The tricky bit — termination date:

The exact termination date is debatable. If you give notice on 1 May, two months later is 1 July — but the common law rule (preserved by paragraph 204 of the RRA Explanatory Notes) says notice must expire at the end of a rent period. The applicable rent period after conversion is unclear — monthly from 1 May (giving 1 July) or anchored to the original start date (giving 20 September anniversary dates). This is genuinely unresolved.

Questions for the thread:

1. Has anyone already contacted Unite about this?
2. Has anyone received the statutory Information Sheet that Unite must send all existing tenants by 31 May 2026?
3. Is anyone else planning to serve notice on 1 May?

What was your first meal in your new home?

We have had word from our solicitor that exchange is set for next week, with completion following 5 days after. We've had a couple of breathe deep moments with the sale of our property and purchase of another. One offer withdrawn and a plethora of pot holes along the way but dare I say it, Im feeling hopeful now (even though I know so many things can still go wrong)

In the spirit of optimism though, I was thinking about the moment were moved in and everyone's gone. When we can light a fire embrace the chaos of unpacking and sit down for food. Husband and son are looking to get a domino's. I want a plate of cheese, meat, pickles and bread on a big board and I want a bottle of chianti to myself 🤣. Im going to pour the chianti into a caraf and let it breathe by the fire - because Im romanticising the hell out of this first meal. Ive even bought new wine glasses, a caraf and a charcuterie board for this occasion - along with shed loads of IKEA vanilla candles to dot around and light everywhere just because I want this whimsy moment to be worth every second of anxiety, hurt and exhaustion we felt. I've even bought us new fluffy blankets to roll out on the floor and just vibe into a cuddle puddle of food and drink 😆 husbands going to prioritise setting up his vinyl, so were just going to listen to music and 'be'

What were your first meals? Was it a big moment for you, or were you too exhausted to feel it?

We need your help solving a mystery about why we can smell every single odour from our neighbour’s kitchen.

We rent a 3-bedroom terraced house in London, built in 1915 and have been here for 18 months. Next door was split into two flats about 15 years ago. Our upstairs back bedroom has a fireplace and chimney stack, which adjoins the neighbour’s kitchen.

The neighbour’s kitchen fireplace has been removed and plastered over professionally. I’ve been in there with the owner and can’t see any obvious holes or gaps in the walls or floor. Their oven is on the opposite wall to our bedroom with a normal extractor hood above it. There is also a small ventilation fan in the outside wall near the window. According to the owner, there have been no recent renovations.

The problem has become much worse over the past couple of months and is now at the point where the bedroom is basically unusable. Unfortunately this includes cigarette smoke. Smells are coming through the fireplace and also through the skirting boards and between floorboards. We have taped up the fireplace, partly sealed the skirting gaps, and filled visible floorboard gaps, which has helped, but the smell is still bad. When they don't open their kitchen window, it can feel like they are cooking or smoking in our bedroom.

Our landlord is mystified because previous tenants did not report the same problem.

Has anyone experienced anything similar in an old terraced house? I’d be especially interested in answers from anyone who has dealt with hidden airflow routes between a kitchen and an adjoining upstairs room. Any ideas or practical fixes very welcome, apart from move...

Hello everyone, need a bit of your advice here. So I reserved a house about 3 months ago on a new site in the midlands. For some reason all the homes in the estate that were on sale back then are still up for sale, with a few new additions.

I would have though deals would be happening almost every week, but apparantly not. I'm a bit concerned that people arent buying, and wondering if there is something I'm missing. Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

Hi all, looking for some advice / similar experiences as I’m starting to get a bit impatient with the process.

I had an offer accepted on a house on 17th December, but it’s a probate sale so we’re waiting on the Grant of Probate before we can exchange.

From what I’ve been told, probate was applied for around late January/early Feb, so we’re now about 8–9 weeks in. There is also only 1 executor.

I had an update 18th of March from the sellers solicitor who said all documentation has been received by the Probate Registry and they were told to wait 4 weeks before chasing again (we’re nearly at the end of that window), I also spoke to the estate agent around this time who mentioned it was “waiting to be signed off” and he thought it would be granted within the next few weeks.

My solicitor has been chasing and says everything else is ready to go from our side — we’re basically just waiting on probate now.

• Does this sound like a normal timeline?

• Based on your experience, how much longer might we realistically be waiting?

• Did anyone else get told “wait 4 weeks before chasing” and how soon after did it come through?

Would really appreciate any insight — feels like we’re close but hard to tell!